


Wild

by roarlikethunder



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 21:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3149183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roarlikethunder/pseuds/roarlikethunder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He is just a tad bit controlling, most comfortable when things go his way. He can compromise, but it's harder than he'd like to admit. He expects his orders to be followed and respected.</p><p>She respects his orders, but following them is a whole different story. She has a reputation for making rash decisions, consequences be damned. She is wild, unpredictable, and often unreasonable.</p><p>It drives him crazy, in more ways than one.</p><p>A Cullen/Lavellan drabble series, in no particular order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wild

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to play around with the idea of a control freak Cullen and an elf inquisitor who drives him absolutely insane. I don't know what my plans are for this yet, but I do know that there will be a lot of fluff and a lot of angst and a LOT of unresolved tension and flirting. I also have no intention of the drabbles being in any sort of chronological order, so there's that.
> 
> I'm fairly new to the Dragon Age universe so if something isn't correct please tell me (do they even have coffee? we're going to pretend coffee is a thing).
> 
> Do we need another Cullen drabble series? Probably not. Will this be even remotely canon? Your guess is as good as mine. Will they ever kiss? WHO KNOWS.
> 
> Special thanks to my beta, [Jamie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shouldersofgiants), who puts up with all of my commas and my inability to get anything done on time <3
> 
> Follow me on [tumblr!](http://roarlikethunder.tumblr.com)

“If you spill even a _drop_ of that coffee-“

 She sighed for what felt like the 8th time this morning. “Dorian, read your damn book, I’m not spilling anything.”

 Dorian cast one last glance at the cup of coffee in question, resting on a shelf near the inquisitor, before returning to the book in his hand. 

 The two were enjoying (more or less) a quiet morning in the corner of Dorian’s usual hangout, surrounded by books and settled in two arm chairs side by side. At some point her legs had found themselves thrown over the arm of his chair and in his lap. Dorian had shot a glare at her, but if she noticed she hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge him. 

 “What are you even reading?” Dorian broke the silence nearly twenty minutes later. “I know it’s not one of mine, you’ve told me you find my collection boring more than once.”

 “That’s because I’m not a mage, so your magical tomes don’t have a lot to offer me.” She replied, turning the page of the small leather book in her hands. “And it’s a journal I found last time we were in the Emerald Graves.”

 “You…stole someone’s journal?” Dorian’s eyebrows rose slightly. 

 She shrugged. “It was just sitting there, so I took it.”

 “Remind me never to keep my journal out in the open.” 

 That got enough of her attention to finally look up. “I’m sorry, did you just admit that you keep a journal?” The smile she gave him was absolutely wicked.

 “I am neither denying nor admitting it. All I’m saying is that if I _do_ have one, I want it well out of your small hands.” Laughing, she took a sip of her coffee (his eye twitched) and went back to reading.

 A door opened downstairs, but neither of them bothered to notice. It was probably Solas returning to his floor of the tower (not that he left very often to begin with), or one of the hundreds of spies or agents or soldiers that came in and out all day long. However, the sound of heavy boots coming up the stairs towards them caught her attention. She knew that sound well enough by now.

 “Inquisitor?” His voice came before he did, and she willfully ignored the flutter in her chest. Stupid voice, stupid scar, stupid attractive smile-

 “Commander,” she acknowledged as he came into sight, voice a little higher than she would have liked. Dorian smirked into his book, but otherwise said nothing.

 “I…” he trailed off, eyes lingering on her feet in Dorian’s lap. “…just wanted to make sure you had everything prepared for you journey to the Hinterlands tomorrow?” He finally looked up at her, but his expression was less soft than usual.

 She blinked a few times, taken aback by the fact that he had hunted her down to make sure she was ready, but also at the sudden mood change. “Yes, Dorian and I got everything packed up yesterday, and Bull and Cassandra said they finished packing today.” 

 He nodded once, eyes narrowing just the slightest when she mentioned Dorian, which was strange considering how good of friends the two men had become lately. “Are you up for a game of chess later?” she tried, not sure where this attitude was coming from.

 “No, I don’t think so,” he all but snapped. “I have a lot of work to do. I’ll see you later.” With that he spun on his heel and disappeared back down the stairs. The door that led to the walkway to his office slammed closed a few seconds later.

 “Well,” Dorian began, “that was…pleasant.” 

 “What the hell is his problem? He never says no to chess,” she muttered, setting her book down and crossing her arms. 

 “I’m afraid he might have been a little jealous,” Dorian smirked suddenly, looking down at the pair of feet in his lap pointedly.

 “Jealous?” she echoed back in surprise. “Why in the world would he be _jealous_?”

 Dorian rolled his eyes. “My dear, I know you’re oblivious when it comes to our Commander, but you can’t be _that_ oblivious.”

 “I am not oblivious! What are you even talking about?”

 “We’ve talked about this,” he sighed, closing his book as he realized it would be awhile before he would get to return to it. “I know how…smitten you are with Cullen.”

 Blushing, she looked away stubbornly. “That’s not the point here.”

 “It is, because like I keep telling you, he feels the same way.”

 “And like _I_ keep telling _you_ , he most definitely does not.”

 “You’re impossible,” Dorian muttered, shaking his head.

 “I’m just realistic. If he felt that way about me, he would have said something by now.” 

 “You sound like a child.” _That_ comment was finally enough to earn him a punch in the shoulder. He rubbed the injury with a frown, glaring at the small elf who had dealt the blow.

 “Even if he did have some sort of feelings for me,” she started again, irritation filling her voice, “he has no right to get upset over something like this. He’s not allowed to be jealous if he won’t make any sort of move.” 

“That’s not-“

 “I’m serious! How dare he get cross with me when I have to initiate almost everything with him?!”

 “He’s just a little possessive, that’s all,” Dorian shrugged. 

 “Well that’s bullshit. Screw him.” She finally uncrossed her arms, taking a large sip of her coffee.

 “There there,” Dorian chuckled, patting her legs. “We’ll be gone for at least a week anyway. That’s plenty of time for him to get over it.”

 “Yeah well, we’ll see if it’s enough time for _me_ to get over it.”

* * *

She stared up at the spot in the sky where a rift had been moments ago, her hand still glowing, energy crackling through her. 

 “Ellana?” Cassandra called from a little ways away, and she turned to look at her companions. “Closing this rift was the last thing you wanted to do while we were here, correct?” Her voice was wary, and no one could really blame her. Every time they asked that question their beloved inquisitor had come up with some other (usually pointless) task for them to accomplish. More shards to collect, a landmark to find, a druffalo to return home…the list never seemed to end.

 “Actually, I think so.” She tipped her head to the side, eyes thoughtful. “Unless there was anything you guys wanted to do-“

 “No! Nope. Let’s go home,” Dorian cut her off, sighing in relief. “As much as I love sleeping on the ground, I don’t. Let’s go.”

 She laughed, slinging her bow over her back. “Let’s head back to the closest camp then, and we can start getting ready.”

“Best thing you’ve said all day, boss,” Iron Bull grunted, throwing his rather large axe over his shoulder. 

Shortly after they had made it back to camp, however, all Dorian had to do was catch the look in her eyes to know they wouldn’t be leaving as soon as he had hoped. “What now? Did we forget to kill someone? Do you want to go steal more innocent journals?” 

She laughed, but didn’t look away from what she had been staring at. He followed her gaze and saw the rocky entrance that was at the back of this particular camp, the one that led to-

 “No,” he said immediately, crossing his arms. “Absolutely not.” 

 “Come on,” she whined, lip sticking out in a pout. “It’ll be fun!”

 “It most certainly will _not_ be fun.”

 “What are we talking about?” Cassandra asked, wandering over.

 “I think we should go fight that dragon,” Ellana shrugged, nodding towards the path.

 “Dragon?” Cassandra repeated, surprised. “You mean the one that Cullen very specifically told us we should not fight last time we were here?”

 Dorian’s eyes widened in realization, then quickly narrowed as her turned on her. “We are not being _barbecued_ because you’re still mad at him-“

 “What’s this about a barbecue?” Iron Bull called from across camp, and while Dorian swore under his breath, Ellana smirked in response. 

 “Hey Bull, wanna go fight a dragon?”

 He was at her side in a heartbeat, and Dorian knew immediately that he had lost.

 “Please tell me you’re serious boss, _please please please_.”

 “Cassandra?” Ellana asked, grinning. 

 “Well, we have been receiving multiple complaints from the people in the area. It certainly would ease a lot of minds…”

 “Great! It’s settled.” Ellana turned to Dorian, chin held high. “Let’s go fight a dragon.”

 Dorian muttered something under his breath about being skinned alive by their Commander, but sighed in defeat and reached for his staff. 

* * *

 “A report from the Inquisitor has arrived.”

 Leliana looked up from her desk, and reached out for the paper, thanking the agent who had brought it to her. As she read it, her expression changed rather quickly. She got up, abandoning whatever she had been previously working on, and made her way downstairs and to Josephine’s office. 

 “Josie, a report from Ellana just came,” she announced as she entered.

 “Really? Shouldn’t they be back soon anyway?” Josephine looked up, concern in her eyes. “Usually when a report is sent to us this close to their arrival, it mean’s they’ve been…delayed…” She didn’t say it, but they both knew what she meant. The reports that had come in informing them that someone had been badly injured (usually the inquisitor) were the worst to read. 

 Leliana shook her head. “That’s what I thought too, but it’s not…here, just read it.” 

 When her eyes finished scanning the piece of paper, they widened, and Josephine covered her mouth with a hand. “Cullen might actually kill her for this one…”

 “I know.” Leliana sighed. “It was smart of her to warn us, though, so he has a few days to, ah, process this before she gets back…Should we go tell him?”

 “We’d better,” Josephine nodded, standing. 

* * *

 “You know he’s going to kill you,” Dorian announced as they entered Skyhold. 

 Ellana rolled her eyes. “No one died and we took care of something that was causing problems. He can’t be _that_ mad.”

 “And we kicked that dragon’s ASS!” Bull yelled from the back of the group, earning a sharp laugh from Cassandra. 

 “All I’m saying,” Dorian continued, smiling despite himself, “is that our Commander is a tad bit controlling, and you going after a dragon because he was rude to you…Well, it’s been nice knowing you Ellana, I’m afraid to say I’ll actually miss you.”

 “Shut up,” was her response, a grin still on her face. “You’re so dramatic. All he can do is yell, and he does that enough already. I’m not worried.”

 “You do know that we’ve made it back in time for dinner, right? Which means you have until we have our stuff unpacked before you have to face him in the dining hall?”

 “…Shit.”

 It turned out, however, that Cullen was quite determined to ignore Ellana. He sat between the other advisors instead of his usual spot next to her. This did nothing but irritate her further, so she was more than happy to ( _loudly_ ) tell all of the eager ears around her the details of their dragon slaying adventure. 

 “It was _huge_ ,” she told her audience, “honestly massive.”

 Dorian shot a helpless look at Cullen, who had set his drink down a little harder than he had intended to.

 “It was beautiful,” Iron Bull added.

 “It wasn’t as hard to beat as I thought,” Ellana continued. “Dorian and I hung back, while Bull and Cassandra kept it busy. Although,” she laughed, shooting a look at the Qunari sitting across from her. “Bull got close enough to hug the damn thing and at certain times I was pretty sure he was going to try.”

 This earned a loud laugh from Bull and the people seated around them listening, even Dorian. 

 “And Cassandra, Creators help me, I’ve never seen her so bored in my life. Seriously, you would have thought that fighting a dragon is something we do every week. She wasn’t worried for a second.”

 The laughter continued as the story went on, and if you ignored the sulking Commander, the mood in the room was light and happy, which didn’t always happen when you had demons and politics to worry about every second of the day.

 “I think we handled it well, though,” Ellana finished, sitting back in her seat. 

 “Handled it well, she says” Dorian scoffed. “Tell that to the large gash on your side.”

 And that, _that_ was finally enough to get Cullen to look up. 

 His eyes met hers, and at least she had the grace to look the slightest bit embarrassed. It was obvious that she had left that detail out of the report she had sent on purpose. 

 She couldn’t quite read his gaze, couldn’t tell if it was anger or worry that contorted his expression, but his actions spoke loud enough. He stood up abruptly and stormed out in the direction of his office. 

 Letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, she turned to glare at Dorian. “Thanks a _lot_ , now I KNOW he’s going to kill me.”

 “Listen,” Dorian began crossly. “I went and fought the damn dragon with you, I let you write a report instead of sending one myself, but there was no way I was gonna help you keep your injury away from him.”

 Ellana caved, biting her lip. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I probably need to go and talk to him, don’t I?”

 “Give him time to cool down first,” Dorian nodded. “And you better apologize, and make sure he knows it was _all your idea_ , I will not take the blame for this.”

 “Ass,” she smiled slightly, bumping her shoulder against his.

 He grinned, bumping her back. “If you live, we should celebrate tomorrow night in the tavern, yeah?”

 “Oh hell yes,” Bull interjected from across the table.

* * *

 Ellana took a few breaths to prepare herself, then quietly pushed open the door to his office. 

 He was bent over his desk, absorbed in a pile of reports. She closed the door loud enough to let him know she was there, but he didn’t acknowledge her. Deciding that it was best to let him speak when he was ready, she settled herself in a chair across from him and waited.

 She tried hard to stay focused on him, to gauge how upset he was through his actions so she was ready for when he finally decided to talk to her, but as minutes passed she grew bored and her eyes wandered around the room.

“So,” he said after what seemed like forever but was likely only fifteen minutes. It was so sudden that she jumped slightly in her seat, then silently swore at herself. 

 “I…” she tried as she turned back to him. His gaze was still down on the papers in front of him, but his mouth was pressed in a thin line, arms crossed. 

 “I told you very, _very_ specifically not to go near that dragon,” he continued when she did not. 

 “You did,” she acknowledged, and he finally looked up at her. His eyes were often warm when his gaze landed on her, but tonight they were too intense, like a raging fire. It was all she could do to not flinch.

 “But you did. You endangered yourself and your friends, and then,” he made a noise in the back of his throat that was somewhere between _disbelief_ and _rage_ , “you got badly injured, and decided that I did not need to know.”

 “That’s not entirely true-“

 “The look on your face when Dorian announced it was pure guilt.” He interrupted her attempted lie without missing a beat. 

 She knew she should be embarrassed, that she should feel bad for what she did, but he was treating her like a misbehaving child and it only made her angry.

 “And your point?” She sat up straighter, and he blinked at the change. 

 “My _point_? My point is that you completely disregarded me-“

 “Let’s not forget, _Commander_ ,” she spit out the title like it left a bad taste in her mouth, “that I outrank you. Your orders are nothing but suggestions.” She surprised herself with this remark, but she was beyond frustration at this point, and it was hard to regret her words.

 His eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed once more. He leaned back in his chair, lifting his chin. “Is that so, _Inquisitor_?” 

 “You can order me around as much as you want, but if you piss me off and I decide to fight a damn dragon, then that’s what I’ll-“

 “ _What_?” He snapped, and she knew she had said too much. “You risked your life because you were _mad at me_?”

 It sounded extremely childish when said aloud, but she refused to back down. “You were rude to me before I left for _no_ reason and it’s all I could think about the entire time we were in the Hinterlands, and I knew we could handle it, and it was a problem for the people in the area, so yes, Cullen, I went and fought a dragon because I was mad at you.” She paused, letting the rush of her words settle in the air.

 He stared at her, mouth slightly open, and for a long moment she wondered if he had nothing left to say, but then without warning he slammed his fist down on his desk. It was enough to startle her a second time, and she drew in a sharp breath.

 “ _Absolutely unbelievable, you could have died, I have never been so mad at you in my entire_ -“ he was yelling now, leaning towards her, and she couldn’t help but lean away defensively, anger swelling in response. 

 “ _If you wouldn’t have been such an ass for no reason I wouldn’t have even considered it, don’t you dare think you can order me around_ -“

 “ _I told you not to go near it because I have nightmares about losing you!_ ” He fired at her, and she reeled back, trying to comprehend what he had said, her mouth opening and closing. He took a deep breath, then leaned away from her again. It was clear in his eyes that he had said more than he intended to, but he was too worked up to go back now. “It used to be just memories from my past, effects from the lyrium withdrawals. But now, on top of that, I dream of you freezing to death after Haven, I watch you fall from Adamant and hit the solid ground, I see the sword of a bandit go through your chest…” His voice grew quieter as he spoke. “To have you put yourself in danger because I made you mad…”

 As if a switch had been flipped, all of the anger drained from Ellana.  “Cullen…”

 “Don’t,” he muttered, looking away from her. The fire had died from his eyes at last, but it had been replaced with utter exhaustion, and she honestly didn’t know which was worse.

 They were quiet for a few minutes, refusing to look at each other, catching their breath. Ellana stood suddenly, and Cullen moved with her, but she didn’t turn for the door as he expected. Instead she moved around his desk and was suddenly _there_ , arms wrapped tightly around him, the side of her face pressed against his chest. He froze, caught off guard, but then he collapsed into her, arms tight around her shoulders, chin on top of her head.

 “I’m sorry I was an idiot,” she murmured into his chest, and he surprised her by chuckling softly.

 “I was an idiot, too. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did when I saw you with Dorian. I wasn’t prepared to see you so close to him,” his grip tightened around her, her stomach twisting in response, “and it was childish of me.” 

 “It s’okay,” she sighed, eyes fluttering closed. “Don’t turn me down for chess again and I won’t go off searching for dragons. Simple fix.” He laughed hard at that, a deep rumble in his chest, and it was moments like _this_ that made her realize just how far in over her head she was.

* * *

 They still tiptoed around each other the next day, their conversations way too polite and eyes not quite meeting. It drove everyone crazy, especially those who were hoping to win an on-going bet last night (“I can’t _believe_ they still haven’t gotten together”), but Dorian was the only one to actually point it out while they were at lunch. 

 “If either of you mentions the weather _one more time_ -“

 Color spread across both their cheeks, and Cullen muttered a stuttered excuse and retreated out of the dining hall and back to his office, hand rubbing the back of his neck the entire time.

 Ellana sighed once he was gone, and turned to glare at Dorian, who smiled cheekily back. “I’m only trying to help.”

 “I don’t remember asking for you help,” she shot back, crossing her arms.

 “Oh _please_ ,” he snorted, rolling his eyes more dramatically than she thought possible. “You come running to me for help every _day_. “Dorian, how do I flirt with Cullen? Dorian, how do I ask him to grab a drink with me? Dorian, how do I deal with being absolutely in love with-‘“ A very hard punch to the arm finally cut him off, but it didn’t stop him from laughing at the horrified expression on her face. 

 “You are seriously the _worst_.”

 “I know.”

* * *

 It turned out that a few drinks were all they needed to get back to normal. Dorian had to practically drag Cullen to the tavern (“I just don’t think it’s the best idea-“ “If you don’t go I will _literally_ set you on fire”) but he finally went, telling himself he wouldn’t stay long. Seeing Ellana, though, was enough to change his mind, as he watched her laugh and mingle, cheeks flushed from the alcohol, raising her glass higher than necessary at every single toast and chant. She finally made her way over to him, eyes bright, and he decided that something that messed with his decision making skills was probably not the best idea in her presence. 

 “I’m glad you’re here, even if we are celebrating something that you didn’t want to happen in the first place.” Her eyes were apologetic, and he knew he should say something, but she was leaning closer towards him than usual, so all he could do was shrug. 

 They stayed close for the rest of the night, drinking far more than they intended to. He found his arm thrown around her shoulders more than once, but she leaned into him every time, so he decided not to worry about it too much. Iron Bull made _far_ too many speeches about the dragon, Sera drained her mug as fast as she could while standing on top of a table and then passed out under it shortly after, and Cassandra laughed more than any of them were used to. 

 “I think I have officially hit my limit,” Ellana announced much later in the evening, staring warily at the mug she had just finished. 

“I’m afraid to say that my limit was reached three drinks ago,” Cullen admitted with a chuckle. 

 “We are _so_ screwed tomorrow.”

 “Oh, absolutely. But it was worth it.” He pulled her closer to his side, arm now around her waist, and she nodded in agreement with a grin. 

 Bull raised his glass across the bar, clearly intending to give another speech, and Ellana groaned. “Oh no, we’re leaving, I can’t listen to this anymore.” 

 “I couldn’t agree more.” They started pushing their way through the tightly packed bodies, stumbling and laughing, clinging to each other for support. A blast of cold mountain air greeted them as they finally made it out of the tavern, and they headed towards the stairs that led to the main entrance of the hold. They stopped as they reached them, though, glancing at each other.

 “This…is not going to be easy.” Ellana muttered, narrowing her eyes at the stone steps in question. 

 “We should probably rest for a minute. Maker’s breath, I have no idea how I’m going to climb the ladder to my bed…”

 They made a not-so-graceful journey up the first few steps, then sat down side by side. They were quiet for a few moments, pressed against each other and gazing at the stars, which were exceptionally bright that night (although it definitely could have just been the alcohol).

 “You never told me,” he began suddenly, and she glanced up at him. “How bad is it?”

 She frowned at him, confused, but realization dawned soon enough. “It won’t take long to heal”, she attempted to shrug, but the motion was much more sluggish than she would have liked. 

 “Where is it?” He tilted his head to the side, eyes wandering down the length of her. She hoped the alcohol hid her blush, and used her finger to draw a line from her ribs down to her hip on her left side. He sucked in a breath. “That’s bigger than I would have…is there a way to keep it from scarring? Can Solas…?”

 She shook her head quickly. “I mean, I don’t doubt that he can, but I wouldn’t want him to.” 

 “Really?” He frowned, clearly surprised. 

 “I like scars.” She shrugged, and reached out the touch the line on his mouth, tracing it softly. She blinked suddenly, realizing what she was doing, and drew away quickly, but it was too late. A smirk was already spreading across his face.

 “Is that so?” She made a point to look anywhere but at him, mumbling a quiet _shut up_.

 They sat together for a long while, content in silence, before the wind picked up and not even the alcohol could keep them warm. After a horribly ungraceful trip up the stairs, a quiet _goodnight_ , and a few warm lingering glances, they were off on their separate ways.

* * *

 The next morning she found him passed out in the chair at his desk, clearly having decided that climbing the ladder was not worth it. She was quite grateful, convinced that the endeavor would have left the inquisition without a commander, and nothing scared her more than that single thought, she realized with a start. 

**Author's Note:**

> The first scene with Dorian was heavily inspired by [this](http://emegustart.tumblr.com/post/106297299902) beautiful work of art!


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